History
Esperion Therapeutics was originally founded in 1998 and has had an exciting and eventful history.
The original incarnation of Esperion was the first to identify and take advantage of the opportunity
provided by HDL therapy for improving cardiovascular health. This success led to acquisition by Pfizer
in 2004. Then after Pfizer's cessation of R&D efforts in Michigan in 2007, Esperion was divested into an
independent company again in 2008. Click the timeline below for the whole story.
1998 | Esperion Therapeutics founded in Ann Arbor, Michigan by Roger Newton and other top lipid scientists to develop novel treatments for atherosclerosis and other metabolic disorders. Funded by $16 million in venture capital investments and a $6 million loan from an international business development fund. In-licensed the intellectual property for two HDL-related product candidates |
1999 | Raised another $27 million of venture capital to fuel growth. In-licensed the intellectual property for two additional HDL-related product candidates. |
2000 | Launched Phase I clinical trials for several product candidates. Received first patent for certain HDL-targeted, small-molecule therapies. Debuted on NASDAQ (Ticker symbol: ESPR) through an initial public offering that raised $62 million. |
2001 | Launched Phase II clinical trials for several product candidates. |
2003 | Published ground-breaking study in the Journal of the American Medical Association demonstrating that HDL therapy could rapidly and safely reverse atherosclerosis. Issued a secondary offering that raised $67 million to expand clinical programs. |
2004 | Acquired by Pfizer for $1.3 billion and began operating as a Pfizer, Inc. company. |
2008 | Divested by Pfizer. Launched the new Esperion as a privately held, independent company funded by $22.75 million in Series A financing
(first round of external investors) from a syndicate of experienced venture capital firms. |
